Unit-2:

A Requiem for Earth -ONV Kurup -Translated by Jaya Kumar

About the Author:

Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kuruppuis popularly known as ONV. He was a poet and lyricist and
Malayali writer. He wrote 15 anthologies of Poetry and 1500 Movie songs. He received many awards
like, Kerala Sahitya Academy Award (1971), Kendra Sahitya AcademyAward(1975),

PadmaShri(1998), Jnanpith Award(2007), Padma Vibhushan(2011) etc.

About the poem:

Requiem is a funeral song or elegy written on the death of a person. In the poem “A requiem for earth”
the poet discusses beauty of the nature and the various ways in which people destroy earth for selfish
motives in the name of development. The speaker is the ONV Kurup himself and it is addressed to the
mother earth.

The death of earth is very close. It is not yet dead, but the poet wishes that the soul of earth may rest in
peace. It is not only to earth but also to his death that will happen(happened) before the death of
earth. If the earth dies, no one will remain here to cry for her so, the poet is writing this in advance. So,
the poet is inscribing this lament in his heart before the death of earth. He hopes that the soul of Earth
will rest in peace.

According to the Malayali’s belief, she gave birth to twelve children who became the twelve clans.
Her children are unable to live in unity. The earth saw them, killing one another. The Mother Earth
was helpless. She shed tears by seeing her children fighting with each other. After eating each other,
they started eating earth. But she did not stop them as she is helpless.
Mother Earth nourished her children by the resources in her (suckled them at her breast). But after
they became stronger, they found out that the earth can be exploited and they started drinking
blood from her sacred heart. Mother Earth gave us life, oxygen, food, shelter, water and everything,
but we are not happy with what we have. We started destroying the resources of the earth, killing
the animals, cutting the forest and polluting the earth.

The poet addresses earth as the favourite bride of sun. He says that the children of earth destroyed
her bridal dress (nature/greenery) given by sun into pieces. They were like beasts who pierced at
her body and drank the blood. As theydance on her, we can feel the rhythm of death everywhere.
Here the poet is giving reference to Oedipus, the Greek who married his mother unknowingly. His
story is outdated. Now the children of mother earth strip her naked, and sell her in market.

Because of cruelty done by humans, the stability of ecosystem is lost. The sun shines brightly and
the temperatures are rising year after year (global warming). June clouds search for water. The
month of December is not cold. There is no flower in April. The climate has changed and so the
seasons. There is no water in the rivers of the forest.The rhythm of creation is lost. Poet compares
life to a person, whose chariot wheels are stuck on their course (reference to warrior Karna).
The poet wonders at the beauty of nature. The earth is able to capture the beauty of sun in a dewdrop
on leaves. His fantasies are grown in the shades of trees and the wind that trod upon sea. From the first
drop of honey(birth) and to the last drop of Tulasi water (death), everything is taken from earth. Ifwe
have the gratitude that we were born form earth, we can retain these sweet memories forever.

The poet describes different forms of earth the poet has seen. The earth makes cradles and sings
lullabies for thousands of tender fruits. She swings in several orchards. She leaps on the tip of the leaves
of banyan tree. She calls with hands like five-pettaled leaves and coo like temple doves. The earth sets
rhythm for the soul of poet like waves in streams. She frightens him like an owl and soothes him like a
cuckoo. She arranges different colours to draw various figures in our mind (beauty of nature) and make
the evenings appear golden. Her beauty disappears into the woods every evening and returns every
morning. She gives life to humans and feeds us with nectar. She crafts poems from the eggs of birds in
the heart of dense forest.She carries the poet (humans) so gently like lotus leaf carries a drop of water.
The poet knows all these things.

Those that remains immortal in the poet is the sweet memories of earth. Earth is compared to a
swan that holds music in her wings and the poet’s glory shines from the tips of her beautiful wings.
But her death is near and the crow of death drank even the nectar of her truth.

The Mother Earth is walking along the solar highway (earth's orbit) with tonsured head and
bundles of shame on her shoulder. She became an outcast because she gave birth to children who
ruined her. She has to face death.

The earth is not yet dead. But this is a requiem to the upcoming death. The poet will not be there to
mourn the death of earth. So, the poet is inscribing this lament on his heart before the death of
earth, the mother. He hopes that the soul of Mother Earth will rest in peace.

Conclusion:
This poem is written to teach the people that they are destroying their own future in the name of
development. The poet hopes that the people will stop damaging the resources of the earth and will
not cause for his own death as well as the earth.